Devlin DeFrancesco knows what he likes, and he likes drivcing Indycar. The NTT Indycar Series newest rookie met the media this morning. he is excited to move up from Indy Lights. DeFrancesco thinks Indycar’s more aggressive style suits him better than racing in Indy Lights did.
“Honestly, personally, I found
the car suited me much more. I got to grips with it quite
quickly” DeFrancesco said. “Definitely from midday onwards in Sebring I was
already coming to grips with it and then Barber it didn’t take
me that long to get up to speed. I really enjoy the car. I
can’t wait to be in the thing again, and I’m really excited to
get going for next year.”
The Canadian driver has big plans for his first year in the series. He shared those goals.
“There’s much more aero, as well, so able to carry a lot
more momentum speed and be a lot more aggressive in
the medium high-speed stuff, as well, which suits me quite
more. I’m excited to get going racing, try reds out for the
first time, seeing what those do in qualifying. There’s a lot
of stuff that I’m looking forward to doing, and I think there’s
definitely going to be some good results in the pipeline for
2022.
For sure there are going to be
some races where I think we’re going to be very
competitive and at the front, and I’d like to go home with
Rookie of the Year and I’d like to be fighting more towards
the front, especially by the end of the year. That’s
definitely my plan.”
As for which tracks DeFrancesco believes he will be strongest, he named the higher speed road courses and the ovals.
“I’ve always seemed to be very strong at the higher speed
tracks with high-speed corners. Ovals, as well, is
something I’ve taken to quite quickly and seem to quite
enjoy. Definitely the higher speed stuff I’m looking forward
to getting at, especially the ovals, Barber, fast tracks like
that, St. Pete, as well. I was quite quick there in Lights, so
looking forward to getting back there for INDYCAR.”
Like all rookies, we will see if his race craft meshes smoothly with his speed.
Michael Andretti Talks F1, Indy Lights
Michael Andrerti put to rest rumors about his attempted purchase of the Formula 1 Alfa Romeo team. it was not financial.
Andretti said, ” I’d just like to
put an end to some of these rumors that the deal fell
through because of financial reasons. That couldn’t be
further from the truth. That had nothing to do with that. It
basically came down to control issues in the final hours of
the negotiations. That’s what killed the deal.
I’ve always said if the deal is not right, we’re not going to
do it, and in the end it wasn’t right. So we continue to look
for other opportunities.”
Andretti explained that he would not be in control of the team had the purchase gone through, so he withdrew.
Andretti also said that Colton Herta would have been placed in the Formula 1 program and Kyle Kirkwood would have taken over the 26 car.
Will Kirkwood return to Andretti? It won’t be in 2022, but Andretti said,
“Yeah, so from that standpoint, that’s why unfortunately at
the moment we don’t have a spot for Kyle, but that’s not to
say we won’t in the future. We’re definitely going to watch
him, and I’m hoping he gets a full-time ride to get
experience, and we’ll see how that goes.
The goal is to get him back in our family one day again.”
Andretti emphasized that DeFrancesco did not take a seat from Kirkwood. There was a three year plan to put DeFrancesco in an Indycar seat.
Indy Lights was another hot topic during the press conference. Andretti strongly believes in the program and he is happy that Roger penske brought the junior series back into the Indycar paddock.
“I believe it’s the foundation for our series. You look at the talent that
comes out of it every year. 90 percent of our drivers have
come through that. That’s where our future stars are.
That’s where the future is of our sport. For me, it was very
important that we keep it alive in any way we could.”
Andretti also shared his thoughts on the absence of the Freedom 100.
“I guess we can be a little bit
different on our views on that. I think he’s looking at the big
picture, I guess, and that is protecting the 500, and he’s
just always worried that if there’s a bad accident or
whatever on Friday it could affect Sunday’s race.
You can’t argue with that, but having said that, I think it was
a great race for experience for these drivers, and it always
put on a great show. My gosh, everybody was excited for
that race to see what was going to happen, and it always
came down to inches at the end of the race.
It is a little disappointing for sure not having the race there,
but it is what it is.”
Steinbrenner Staying Put
George Steinbrenner IV has no plans to strike out and form an independent team. He has been a part of Andretti for six years and sees no reason to leave at this time. Steinbrenner said,
“You know, that — if the
team(time) ever comes where it sort of makes sense from an
operational/financial standpoint, then sure, absolutely it
would be awesome. But again, so far there hasn’t really
been the opportunity or really the reason to sort of leave
what the program is that we’ve had going on.
Sure, yeah, it’s definitely something we’ve thought about,
talked about, looked into, but don’t really have a timeline or
timetable for when or if it would be a reality.”
I really can’t think of a good reason for him to leave, either.
on Freedom 100
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The Pit Window by Mike Silver 